Jewel in the slum
by Setsura
Summary: Ch.4 Updated! Kise finally have the chance to talk with Akashi and he tell Kuroko about his wish... Also contain other pairings but it will mainly be Akashi/Kise
1. Akashi Seijuuro

Hey everyone, this is my first attempt at making a master/slave fic so I hope I can get this right :D

Huge thanks to PetiteSkylark for Beta-ing my story 3

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As for early explanation:

In shogi, you have to use two gold generals and there's no such thing as gold general handicap.

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Disclaimer: Kuroko no basket isn't mine, it is Fujimaki Tadatoshi's…

I hope you enjoy~

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A red haired boy sat on a well carved chair; in front of him was a shogi board which was placed on a small table. His long fingers played with a shogi piece as he thinks of the next step he shall take… Then, the sound of the door being pushed open and footsteps approaching him was heard.

"What's this, you're playing without the gold general?" a green haired boy asked him casually. But the red haired boy was still immersed in engaging an informal shogi match with his imaginary opponent…

"I've heard of the rook, bishop, lances and knight handicaps but gold general?" the green haired boy continues his protest to him, in which the other boy just replies with a slight smile on his handsome face.

He knows that there's no such handicap in shogi, but instead of pressing on the matter further, he lifts his face to meet the other boy's deep emerald eyes, his' a beautiful mismatched ruby and gold.

"Do you want to play? It's quite interesting."

"No. Did you lose your gold general, Akashi?" Not really a question, he just want to know where the piece could've gone because he doesn't want to play with that kind of handicap … A mischievous and dangerous smile appears on the red haired boy's lips as if he's currently planning something.

"I didn't, Shintarou… I just 'lent' it to someone; I'll be retrieving it soon, along with a prize… A prize I've been waiting for all these years." The smile change into a smirk at his last few words. The green haired boy knew that Akashi might be planning something dangerous or frightening, but decided to shrug it off anyway,

"I don't care whatever it is that you intend to do, but don't involve me on your adversary…" A simple statement comes out from his mouth as he readjusts his spectacles to be in position.

"Don't worry, everything's working according to my plan. Though, I guess I am being a little bit impatient… I want to devour it already…" Akashi removes the gold general piece from his imaginary opponent's side on board, a light gleaming dangerously in his eyes.

"Him?"

"That enticing beauty of gold…"

"Gold?" He's getting impatient at the overly used metaphor on Akashi's sentence already as he narrowed his eyes when he asks Akashi the meaning of that statement, in which Akashi answered by telling him a story of his childhood memories…

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Seijuuro Akashi, eight years old, considered a genius ever since his birth. At the age of five, he has already won many shogi championship matches. Around that time, his parents invited a famous shogi maker to their house and their precious little Akashi seemed to be very interested in carving his own shogi pieces… His small fingers carefully carve a letter on each of his shogi pieces and admittedly, the letters were really pretty… He already carved his own 'King' piece, and was quite satisfied by that. When he almost finished carving his 'Gold' general piece, his parents called up to him and his brother,

"Seijuuro, Tetsuya, let's go."

"Yes." He answered softly and unconsciously put the piece inside his pocket. He saw that his light blue haired brother was already dressed up and ready to go.

His parents took him into the biggest market on the town, his beautiful red eyes scanning every last corner of the market. He finds many wooden stalls with various things on it, such as vegetables, meat, animals and plants. Over at the other section of the market, they sold beautiful things like jewellery, but what really intrigues him is the furthest section of the market. He sees many kinds of people there; old and young women and men trapped inside a cage… He asked his parents about what they sell at such dark place, but his parents just kind of shrugged it off.

The sound of flutes caught his attention, his beautiful ruby iris wandering around to search for the source of the music. One step, two steps. He keeps walking forward until he reached a stall with a well carved wooden cage. There, he saw a child around his age playing the flute. This was his first time watching such beautiful golden hair being tousled so carelessly until his bangs covered almost every inch of his face… Apparently, said child didn't notice the red eyed boy watching him intently…

"It's a nice song." Akashi shows his appreciation towards the music. What he didn't know was that it surprised the blonde, which also caused him to drop his flute as the said instrument fell to the ground and rolled to the redhead's feet. Akashi picked it up.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" he asked him a short and simple question.

"Are you… asking me?" the blonde boy asked innocently.

"Is there anyone else?" Akashi answered as matter of fact… The blonde child quickly stood up and brushed his worn out clothes and pants before brushing aside his long bangs. That's the time when Akashi first sees his face clearly. He has a cute, oval face for a boy, his beautiful long eyelashes covers a pair of bright topaz eyes, and although covered in dirt, Akashi can still see that he has fairly white skin that is rare for a child who usually runs around under the sun… His gaze trails to the other's lips; although slightly bruised, it doesn't change the fact that the red lips contrasts his pale white skin so much that makes it really stands out… Given a few bath and proper care, this child would undoubtedly beat all those snobbish nobles who chirp about their own appearance every now and then…

"No, I thought no one would ever speak to me…" He speaks in a low voice that Akashi could barely hear.

"Why?"

"Because I'm a slave… in fact, this is my fifth time being here… I guess nobody wants me." He laughed sheepishly; does he even understand the meaning of slave? Akashi wondered before he asked him further about the flute. He's rather curious about it because the song he played was quite difficult.

"Did they teach you how to play a flute?" he wondered if it was just to boost the blonde's value in people's eyes…

"Someone played it yesterday; I'm just mimicking him…" he answered anxiously, afraid that he might have got the notes wrong,

'_Yesterday? He could play a whole song just by seeing it yesterday?' _Akashi widened his eyes quite noticeably before reverting it back to normal,

"Umm…" he mumbled, "is that yours?" the boy pointed to something under his feet. Akashi looked down and saw that his shogi piece had fallen out of his pocket so he picked it up.

"What is it?" the blonde ask out of curiosity.

"A shogi piece."

"Shogi?"

"A game."

"How do you play it?" the blonde's eyes are expectant of an answer from him.

"Well, you can't play with just one piece"

"Then how?"

"The rules are complex; I doubt you can understand it without seeing the whole game."

"I see…" he looked a bit disappointed and Akashi thought it's kind of cute…

"Here" he held out his hand and gave the blond his shogi piece, "Keep it."

"You said we can't play with just one piece." Akashi smiled at the statement, thinking that he should teach him and maybe he can be his playmate when there's no tournament,

"I'll show you later." Up close, the blonde inspected him from head to toe. The red haired boy wore an extremely different class of clothes; a stylish white shirt and jacket with black trousers. He has a very handsome face, his striking red eyes and hair makes the blond hard to part his eyes with such a mesmerizing combination

"Your hair and eyes are red, they're just like the color of a pretty stone I saw before, and it's truly beautiful!" he smiles brightly at him, a smile brimming with pure fondness… Akashi blinked his eyes a few times before registering what just happened before smiling slightly. Truth to be told, he was always complimented on how handsome he looked, but he know that everyone, excluding his family and friends, are uncomfortable with how his eyes are colored red, as red as blood…

"That's the first time someone complimented my eyes like that, you are interesting." Akashi's lips parted into an amused smile.

"Hmn?" the blonde widened his eyes innocently,

"You said nobody wants you? I want you." He made sure the blonde hears the last part clearly,

"Huh?" The boy stared at him, dumbfounded…

"Hey, Become mine?" Akashi caressed the blonde's dirty cheek and the boy blushed furiously.

"You can't! I spotted him first!" a voice could be heard from behind them. A boy with dark skin and blue hair approached them; he took the blonde's hand.

"I spotted him this morning so he's mine!" he glared at Akashi with his pair of dark blue eyes,

"W-wha?" The blonde boy is obviously flustered at the turn of events…

"Nobody said first come first served, know your place." Akashi switched his attitude ever so quickly as he looked down towards the blue haired boy with such a glaring difference from how he looked at the blonde.

"When I said he's mine then he's mine." The other boy refused to lose the argument. Unfortunately someone lifts the blonde easily from behind and said.

"I want him too, that makes two on one. We win." A voice suddenly appears from behind Akashi. The owner of the voice, a light blue haired boy stepped forward to make sure they can hear his words.

"W-wha, since when?!" the blue haired boy was so surprised that he let go of the blonde's hand while Akashi didn't seem to be the least surprised by his appearance,

"Tetsuya, you've been there all along?"

"Yes." He nodded at his brother before turning around, blue eyes meeting with a pair of golden iris,

"As I thought, I want him too, first as a friend..." the blonde blushed at Tetsuya's remarks on wanting him to become his friend,

"What are you kids blabbing around? Oi Kise, someone already bought you just now… "

"Huh?" There's too much things happening at once, the blond doesn't know what to think anymore…

Before they could even voice a protest, the big guy had already pulled the blonde away. The boy named Kise glance towards them and the other man one last time before being placed in a carriage… A silver haired boy at the carriage smirked evilly at the blue haired boy. Akashi needed a few seconds to register that Kise is being bought by someone that's not him as he narrowed his eyes considerably.

"That boy seems to know you." Tetsuya turns his head to face the blue haired boy,

"Haizaki… that bastard!" the thought screamed inside the blue haired boy's head as he clenched his fist and teeth

"You… Do you know that boy?" It wasn't even a question; Akashi demands an answer from the boy in front of him… And he wants it now.

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…After telling his story, Shintarou couldn't understand at how Akashi could be so fixated at the blonde boy in his story,

"Is that all?"

"No, I met him once again three years ago…and that 'incident' escalates these urge to have him…"

Shintarou wants to press further for the issues but decide to keep it silent since Akashi only said 'Incident' instead on explaining further, meaning he doesn't have any intention on telling him… Well, he can always find more information from Akashi's brother and it didn't surprise him in the slightest when Akashi told him.

"…The plan has been set in motion, all I need is a trigger and everything will lead to a checkmate for 'him'." Akashi moved his Bishop, all of his piece surrounding the enemy's 'King' piece as he announced clearly,

**"****Ō te****."**

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**Fi****n**

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**A.N :**

I think the next one would be from Kise's point of view~

Any reviews would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks for reading!


	2. Kise Ryouta

Managed to post it within this week \o/

And Kise, where's your declaration of love to Kuroko? *is shot*

Thanks to my beta reader, otsukare sama deshita~!

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Song : Fujita Maiko - Nidome no Koi

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Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke,

Enjoy~

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He was born with a beautifully-shaped face, silky-golden hair and a pair of bright topaz eyes; it was his mother's last gift for him as she passed away right after Kise opened his eyes to see the world for the very first time… His childhood was nothing fancy, he was an orphan ever since his birth and as he learned to speak, he also realized that he didn't have a 'father' or a 'mother', when he asked the volunteers where he could get his own father and mother; deafening silence and a pat on his head were always the answer… He was a very sweet child and everyone loved him, they taught him many things, such as manners, math, language and many others. Now, whenever he remembered his childhood, he would always remember that day, the stormy and cold day when strangers came through the window of his room… Fear slowly ran through his vein as all of sudden, everything went black and he felt that it was hard to breathe...He was put inside a sack and as he tried to struggle, the strangers would slam the sack into the wall or the floor. By the time he woke up, he was inside a place that resembled a cage. In his vision, there was no clear blue sky, there was only bars, a wooden cover and scary people… For the first time, he realized how insignificant and powerless he was...

For a few months back then, he could only find himself starving and thirsty every day, eventually, he found himself hating how he smelled and how dirty that place was, he resent his hunger along with an unquenchable thirst, for he would always take the food or drink they gave to him because of it; his clothes were tattered because he'd ripped it to shreds, he threw a tantrum he knew no one would even care about, and his heart was broken to pieces… For months, nobody talked to him as they were all treated inhumanely… As time passed, one after another, his friends were taken from him by strangers, leaving him all alone with no one he could snuggle with on cold days… There were only people watching at him eagerly as they passed, not even batting their eyelashes after seeing him all broken and pitiful, and he hated them for that… He was always curled up in the corner of the wooden cage, covering his face with his arms as he closed his eyes, hoping that someday, this nightmare would end, hoping that someone from the orphanage would come and wake him up with a smile on their face…

One day a group of a travelling circus passed him, he was so immersed in watching all the marvelous things they showed and for a moment, he forgot about all the darkness lurking nearby, although when the show ended, he returned to the reality he faced before… Though reluctant, he curled back with a tint of sadness in his eyes, one of his hands still grabbing the bar, unable to let go of the precious moment he had experienced before... A performer of the circus took a pity on him as she shoved a flute inside the cage before leaving with the other performers. When he opened his eyes the next morning, he found a beautiful thing on the ground and he picked it up ever so carefully, afraid that his dirty hands may defile the beautiful thing… He placed the flute properly in front of his lips and played his first tune, eyes shining, face brimming with happiness, and for the first time since he got here, he realized that he still had something he could hold onto, even if the world would end tomorrow. He never remembered how much he wanted freedom before he held the beautiful thing in his small, fragile hand. The world is harsh and he finally knew it.

On the same day, he met a fiery red boy… Hair as red as ruby, eyes as red as blood, a presence different from any others he saw before, a calm and passionate gaze from the smaller boy was enough to make Kise feel like a small and ignorant human being, but even so, he was intrigued by this smaller boy from the world outside the cage, the boy who experienced all the things he hasn't, yet not a single trace of pity was found both in his eyes and words. But maybe fate doesn't love him, just when some people he thought he wanted to stay with announces that they want him, he was once again taken by a stranger…

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A few years passed quietly and fate once again played his hand…

The Haizaki family was famous for their eccentric nature; they placed Kise in the same school as their son, Shougo…It was indecent, they said, it was a shame, they told him, it was disgraceful, they insulted him, but he didn't care, nothing in this world matters anymore... The small and fragile little boy grew up to be a young and refined man, his face no longer showed any trace of fluffiness and his voice had changed, he was no longer the small and shy little boy everyone loves and he would no longer smile an honest and innocent smile…Everything inside him has practically changed; he now spoke in a deceitful tone and expertly hid lies behind his smiles… At school, he was very careful as not to outshine his master's son, because no one would know what he would do to him at home when all Shougo does in school is making fun of Kise and actually, he only did that to boost Shougo's ego, as Shougo thought that Kise wouldn't be able to beat him in anything and Kise could only smiled bitterly at how dirty he himself has become… However, a small meeting with an old acquaintance changed his world…

"You don't have to smile if you don't want to, it's an eyesore." A dark skinned boy brushed pass him; those words stricking him like lighting.

"Aomine-kun, you're too harsh. I'm sorry, he's someone who can't read a situation properly…" said a light blue haired boy who follow him closely from behind, he seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"What? Did I hear you right, Tetsu?"

"Be quiet, Aomine-kun, don't you see he's still shocked?"

A snort could be heard from the blue haired boy.

"I'm Tetsuya, but for some reason, they called me Kuroko, and he's Aomine Daiki…" Somehow, he remembers their faces, it was as if the wind from the past whispered to him gently…

"You are… from before…"

"Yes… It has been a while, how are you faring? Though I can see it's not good… My brother wouldn't be pleased to hear this…"

Another snort could be heard from Aomine.

"Well, he should come and see for himself then."

"He would, soon."

"Ah, that horse riding contest? I'm not participating, it's too troublesome." Aomine scratched his back and yawned, apparently not interested in the championship…

"Then it's settled, Kise-kun will be ours next." Kuroko held Kise's right hand sleeve, looking at him with somewhat of an anticipating face (still expressionless though).

"Oi, Tetsu, you're cheating."

"It isn't my fault that Aomine-kun can't get Kise-kun." Kuroko said again while giving Aomine a pitiful gaze,

"Wait! What's this all about? You're all just going on and on without me." Kise felt that he had been involved in a quarrel he didn't understand at all and he didn't want to be a part of it…

"Huh? Isn't it obvious? We're going to get you out of that rotten family." Aomine announces with an annoyed look…

"Wha…that's ridiculous!" He protested, raising his voice a little bit. It was just ridiculous, he had only met them once, is this another one of those riches' insult to him?

"It isn't…" Kuroko said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"We barely know each other, and besides, there's no benefit in doing that for me. I'm just a slave, a servant; I don't have anything you could possibly want." he continued. There's no way they would do this if they already knew who he is...

"You… You worked your ass off right? After school, you went here and there, working at the newspaper joint, the city's library, the restaurant across my house, a flower shop near Tetsu's house... For me, that's too troublesome and meaningless, but you did it, and that kinda caught my attention. You even get up early in the morning to deliver newspaper when the night before, you barely sleep... We've been watching you, you just never realized." Aomine shrugged. How would they know about that... And how in the world did he not realize that? Out of every one of the fake smile he gave to others, maybe there were people who actually returned it with a sincere smile... Is this the truth?

"Kise-kun, I would never think of you as a slave. Ever since the first time I met you, I thought you were brighter than anyone else, you are more beautiful than anyone else, and you've lived your life harder than anyone else, yet you still fight through everything… I, myself, found that to be amazing… That's why I want to become your friend. Or do you not want to be my friend?"

So, someone actually cares… He hasn't been abandoned all these years… He was afraid to trust someone because he feared that he'll lose them again, yet every inch of his heart screamed out loneliness… He had always wanted someone he could talk to, someone who would listen to his meaningless banter, someone who would scold him when he was going overboard, he yearned for a person he could call a 'friend'. Kuroko's words broke through the fort he built inside and melted away the freezing cold ice in his heart, becoming tears…

"No…I…Thank… you…" he murmurs while erasing the tears that flow with his sleeve…

From a distance, a pair of watchful eyes watched them, though none of them noticed… Ever since that day, Kise has been more honest and open to them to the point that sometimes, he would be overly attached to Kuroko… Kuroko would sometime warn him and protest, though he doesn't really mind it and days like these passed quietly like a calm before the storm…

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A.N: It was hard to write Kise's childhood until the contest so i hope i didn't ruin his childhood part here ;v;

Thank you for reading!


	3. Second encounter

Mood : Song of Goddess - The eternal path

Disclaimer: I don't own Kurobasu as always x"D

As always, a big thank you for my beta~~ I hope you will enjoy this chapter,

Enjoy!

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On the day of the riding contest, a crowd gathered around the most favored rider, Akashi Seijuurou… An intimidating presence floated around him, along with a charming smile that only he could ever possess. Kise just smiled bitterly at him, at least that part still hasn't changed… Their eyes suddenly met, and just like before, he quickly averted his eyes from Akashi, in which Akashi smiled knowingly, eyes focused on one person while the crowd was singing fake praises and empty compliments at him.

Soon after the contest started, as expected, Akashi led with Aomine following closely… Kise proceeds carefully until he felt something strange as the ground starts to shake gently… His horse was acting weird and the animals seemed to run away for their life from the mountain… Aomine's horse was no different, his horse bouncing madly until Aomine fell to the ground, Kise's eyes instantly caught Akashi throwing himself from the horse so he forced his horse to rush forward and managed to reach the edge of the ravine where Akashi was trying to collect himself. He climbed down his horse and walked carefully towards Akashi… That was the time when a big earthquake struck. He groveled to the ground, preventing gravity to do what they like to him, but unfortunately, the ground below Akashi started to crack open and Akashi fell down the huge and deep crack… Kise managed to reach him in time, and as he holds Akashi's arm steadily, yet another earthquake occurred and it was extremely difficult to maintain his position. The sharp tree branches and stones didn't give him any mercy at all, inflicting incised wounds on his smooth white skin, blood streamed along his hand before he, too, fell...

"What are you doing? Let go." A stern, yet still calm voice commanded… Kise was still too fixated on maintaining himself to not to be pulled away, so he chose not to look at the steep ravine.

"…There's a deep river down there and I am the son of the most prestigious noble out there, they will find me in no time."

"Who can guarantee that you will have a smooth fall all the way? Who can guarantee that there are no huge rocks in the river? An abnormality human can't foresee, that's called luck, and if there's something that humans can't change, it's called fate." Kise retorts back with a firm gaze,

"I am absolutely sure, there's no way I would make a mistake." A piercing gaze meets his firm one. Akashi was just claiming that he is what he is, and sadly, that is the truth. Somehow, Kise feels for the man, the blonde was nowhere as lucky as Akashi and he had much more pitiful childhood than the red haired teen before him… But at least, he felt that there were countless possibilities in his life and he felt nice not knowing where his future would lead him to because at least he can carve his own future… He had thought of it for a while, but he can't imagine his life walking a straight, dreary path…

"Let go." A repetition of his previous order, but Kise's no longer looking at him, it seems that he has finally snapped some of his obedient nerve and chose to ignore Akashi's order, the current of blood flowed more rapidly as he put more strength into pulling Akashi's arm.

"Didn't you hear me? Let go." There it is again. This time with a considerable amount of venom hidden in between his sweet and gentle voice. It is now do or die for Kise, Akashi has been lenient to him by repeating his order three times in row and even explaining his reason, yet Kise still disobeyed him.

"Ryouta." A hint of finality in his voice as he glared at Kise, it was the first time he had heard someone call him by his first name, and it leaves him with a tingle of happiness…

"Sorry…" a strained voice could be heard from Kise, his soft gaze and a wide smirk towards Akashi made the red head question the other's ability to think, or maybe the blonde has finally snapped.

"You see, I…" he tries to put more strength into pulling Akashi, forgetting the wounds on his arm… A very beautiful smile graced his sweating face… "I'm not good at doing something that goes against what my instinct tells me to do… I'm just not smart enough to think like you do."

Kise pulled Akashi up with all of his strength and he just lay there, spent and weak because of the heavy amount of blood loss…

"This is bad… I can't feel my arm anymore…" he murmured as if he's reaching the other world already, his head is dizzy and his mind was trying to comprehend all the pain that suddenly emerged… In between unconsciousness, he could hear someone calling him… The voice soft and gentle, and all of a sudden, he remembered his orphanage…

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The next time he opened his eyes, he saw red. Akashi sat at the bedside and he noticed the weight shift as Kise tried to gets up.

"You have my gratitude…"

"Don't mention it. Are you okay?"

"Rather than worrying about me, you should worry about yourself… That was some heavy blood loss…"

Kise just laughed sheepishly, scratching his cheek lightly while awkwardly averting his eyes…

"Well, that aside, what do you want in exchange for saving me?"

"I..."

"I can give you everything."

A dark cloud loomed over Kise's beautiful face as he lifts his head to face him with determination in his eyes.

"What is the use in having everything but feel nothing? Besides, don't you think I have everything? Clothes, food, a place to stay and even looks…"He doesn't like it when someone gives him something, it only reminds him of the time when he was powerless inside that cage... But now, he could buy food on his own and he even could afford fine clothes with the money he earned everyday, even if the Haizaki family were to abandon him in the street.

"You sure you don't want anything?" A pause, but then Kise looked at him, straight in his eyes and said;

"…I want freedom." He was sure that it was the only thing he couldn't afford with money and even now, he still wants it badly...

"Freedom can't give you something to eat, nor can it give you a home to stay. Let me give you an offer, be my slave then I will give you all the freedom you would ever want." A proposal more than an offer. A chuckle left the blonde's lips.

"That's funny; Aomine-chi offered me the exact same thing a while ago."That was an amused smile, Akashi noted.

"Daiki said that? I see." He placed his finger on his chin, thinking about something, but decide to shrug it off for the time being.

" Well, what do you say?" Kise chuckled again, this time with a bright and happy expression on his face,

"… I will buy myself." He continues,

"Well, I'm not used in getting help from other people, and I think I can manage that much… Three years…Give me three more years and I'll think about these offers." After a considerable amount of pausing, Akashi finally spoke.

"…Fine, I shall give you at least that much. Rest, little red riding hood."

"Okay?" He wondered for a while before he threw his head into the fluffiness of the pillow…He's tired and talking drains all of his energy... This pillow sure is fluffy, wait, fluffy? His pillow was never fluffy. He thought to himself and apparently, realized that something doesn't fit the picture at all…

"Wait! Where is this?!" he shouted panickedly.

"My room." Akashi answered plainly,

"You're too slow, Kise-kun" And Kuroko appears.

"Kuroko-chi? Wait, I-I will get out of here soon, sorry for the disturbance." He flipped up the soft blanket covering him and was about to walk away before a voice stopped him.

"You're intending to refuse my good will?" Akashi asked with a frightening smile on his handsome face and Kise's sharp instinct instantly screamed out 'Danger!'

"…No, I will stay." He returned and quickly pretends to sleep while he could hardly sleep in that kind of condition…

"Good boy." Amused, Akashi let out a satisfied smile…

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In the hall, after they gets out of Akashi's room.

"Why'd you let him go?" Kuroko was quite curious at Akashi's slow approach on Kise.

"I didn't, I just gave him a time limit. He still doesn't realize that everyone looks at him with envy and that there are hungry gazes of wolves aimed at him."

Akashi took a wine replica at the end table just outside his room and spoke in a low and dangerous tone.

"Say, Tetsuya… Don't you know that a wine would be tastier when you waited for a long time, instead of drinking the whole bottle in one go? The desire would simply build up as the wine age… And when you finally take a sip, you would always crave for more…"

Kuroko watched him closely; he understood the meaning behind those sentences all too well… His gentle yet cold brother has set his eyes on a precious gold, he was just assessing if that gold is worthy enough for him to have… And it seems that three years from now on, he would finally bare his fang at the little red riding hood…

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A.N : I decided to put Haizaki up next, just wondered about what kind of personality i should give him...

el Cierto : Thank you! this chapter is practically an Akakise chapter, I hope you enjoy this chapter~

Lylia00 : Thanks! Murasakibara will appear later, i would never left the sweetheart behind~

MrsMalasLogin : lol, there he is xD

Blank Angel :Thank you~ I'll leave it to your imagination until the next chapter :

pipps44 : Yes, He is.

lunatari23 : Thank you! i hope i didn't disappoint you ;v;

KeiHoshi : Thanks, though Kise sure is one hell of a slave lol

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Thank you for reading my fic!


	4. A bird inside the cage

Double update of Akakise this week, this fic was beta-ed by the kind PetiteSkylark, i'm going to a remote place this week so i thought i should update this chapter, that's why i added a bit here and there in the beta-ed fic so if you spot any grammatical error, that's mine orz.

Enjoy~!

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"Oi, Kise!" A figure quickly approached them, it was the only child of the Haizaki household, Haizaki Shougo… "What the hell are you doing in someone else's house? You lost on your way home? God, you're useless!"

"Haizaki, your voice's too loud, it hurts my ears." Akashi announced clearly, his face indifferent on the event… His bright red cat eye seems to be scorching the man before him…

"Ha, if it isn't the smart-ass 'Prince'. Well I've come to retrieve our forgotten luggage at the mountain so you wouldn't be burdened, 'Prince'" The silver-haired boy mocked, in which the smaller boy just ignored his insult with slightly bored expression,

"That 'Luggage' you mentioned is resting, the doctor told me to let him rest for a while so I lend him a room, you're free to take him home after he had enough rest." He stated calmly, making sure that the other boy understood the meaning of his sentence,

"Sorry, 'Prince', I'm taking him home; he's our servant and what face would we show the world if we can't even take care of our own servant?" A bluff Akashi had been accustomed for, however that wasn't enough to even shake Akashi from his ground… The red-haired boy's golden eye flickered as he moved forward slowly, faking a smile expertly.

"You don't have to worry about it. Your servant had saved my life, it's only natural that I should repay him at least this much… I'm sure that your family would do the same thing." Akashi's lips spread out into a smirk, eyes piercing into the silver-haired boy before him… Not wishing to sully his family's name, Haizaki Shougo step aside, muttering a 'Whatever' before exiting out the door.

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.

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"Hey." The blonde man lying on the bed called him… His heterochromatic eyes moved its iris towards the source of the sound,

"You're awake?" He calmly flips the newspaper on his lap, reaching for a cup of tea in the beautifully carved table right beside his seat.

"Yeah… Hey…" The blonde called him once again. His hand covered his face, making his expression unknown to the other.

"Why were you so fixated on me?" An innocent question, the blonde has been asking himself for any reason, but the only reason he could thought of was 'His look'…

"I'd rather call it 'Adoration'"

"You're exceptional, rich and smart, you can practically get everything you want from food, clothes to women… Why'd you want a dirty boy who grew up in the slums like me?" It's just a matter of fact, and Kise's sure that the other party had realized it too.

"I wonder…" The red-headed boy calmly sipped his tea before placing the cup back to the table.

"As I thought, is it because of my face?"

"Don't force the things you idealized on me… I haven't got the slightest time to play around." Finally he turns his head towards Kise, who was still hiding behind a fluffy white pillow…

"…I don't understand… Then what it is that you wanted? I don't have money, power or even intelligence… What else would you after unless it's my looks?" Kise doesn't want him to see heterochromatic eyes pitying him. He had survived this long without any help from others, so the sight of others pitying him really gets on his nerves. Though what he didn't know was that Akashi wasn't pitying him.

"…Who knows…? For me who's always basked in blinding brightness, the sight of your radiance despite the darkness enveloping you was intriguing… It's like finding a jewel covered in mud…"

"Akashi-sama, there's a guest for you…" A polite voice of a servant could be heard from behind the wooden door.

"Then I'll have to excuse myself…"

Kise's beautiful honey brown orbs trailed every movement of the noble.

"Kise-kun, your eyes would pop out if you keep staring like that."

Kise almost jumped at the voice, "K-K-Kurokocchi!? S-since whe-"

"Since the very beginning, you didn't realize?" he asked with an indifferent expression, making Kise wonder if runs in their household's genes since Akashi also barely had any expression aside from the occasional slight smile.

"He always got everything he wanted as if it was given…" A small voice disrupt the silence between them…Kise let out a loud sigh as if he had expected it,

"That's kind of… annoying." The blonde joked lightly as Kuroko lowered his head, any expression was hidden behind the soft veil of his light blue hair…

"But that's the problem…" Kise blinked his eyes innocently, not understanding where this conversation would lead him to…Kuroko lifts up his head to meet with the blonde's shimmering eyes,

"He had always got everything he wanted that he had stopped wishing for anything of this world…"

"Isn't that a bit… You know… Exaggerating?" The blonde scratched his cheek a little,

"It might sound like boasting, but really, it was as if he had lost any interest on anything except Shogi…"

A deafening silence filled the room before the light blue haired boy continued with his explanation.

"It was hard to watch your sibling's expression faded into nothingness…"

"Well, that's really bad… I think?"

"That's why when you appeared, I was surprised… For the first time, he couldn't get something he wanted. You incited the flickering flame inside him; it burns brightly even now… As his little brother, I thank you." A soft smile blooms over the young noble's face,

"Well… it isn't as if I'd refuse being your servant or anything… But… I don't want to live inside a cage anymore… Even if it's as wide as a city or even if it's made of gold…" Kuroko smiled gently, understanding and respecting his wish,

"I understand…"

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Kuroko watched Kise as he left their house, as he walked pass the hallway towards his room, he saw a very familiar silhouette standing in the corner of the window, the evening sun shines over him as he watch The blonde's disappearing figure…

"Shall I clip his wings so he wouldn't be able to fly away?" Kuroko widened his eyes in surprise, he had thought that his brother would have thought of that in his mind but he didn't expect to hear it from his brother himself… The red-haired boy chuckled lightly,

"I was just kidding… Don't misunderstand me, Tetsuya… If he want to fly away then he should, I won't stand on his way… However, no matter how far he'd fly, he'd always come back… Just like a dove…"

* * *

A.N :

Lylia00 : Thank you! Kise is a very hard-headed man in my imagination, once he set his mind on something, he will do it, that's why i also thought he won't let go of Akashi's hand.

Blank Angel : If i add Kagami, it'd surely be a three-way love lol and i afraid Akashi'd have to work extra hard to get Kise, because Kagami would understand, respect and help Kise wholeheartedly... Who wouldn'd fall in love for someone like that? xD

lunatari23 : I'm still thinking what role would Kuroko play in near future xD

DimDim, Morelen and JennyPham7 : Here's the update, hope you like it!

Thank you everyone for reading my fic :D


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